Pierina Berton

Soon after we began talking, I asked Pierina where she was born, and she showed me a photograph of the delightful village of Pozzale di Cadore, situated on the lower slopes of the majestic snow-capped Dolomite Mountains in northern Italy. Then we talked about her early days in that part of the land. Pierina’s parents had some land where they kept a cow, (which Mother milked) a pig, and some chickens. They were able to gather mushrooms that grew on their land (if they got in first) as things were communal in those days. They also grew potatoes and beans in their garden, but being mountainous, the soil was stony, so not very productive. The cow grazed on the natural pasture on their land, which before winter was cut and stored for fodder to feed it in the barn during the colder months. Pierina’s only living grandparent, her maternal grandmother, lived next door and the child was a frequent visitor to her beloved Nonna, and often stayed overnight.